"While an up-to-date valuation on TikTok is difficult to come up with, it is likely to the order of $40-80 billion, meaning whoever decides to jump in has to be ready with some serious money," he said.
He added that potential suitors are likely to include some of America's largest social media and technology players, such as Meta and Google, in addition to Musk's X.
Meta and Google didn't immediately respond to a CNBC inquiry.
Sarah Kreps, the director of the Tech Policy Institute at Cornell University, however, warned that players such as Meta, Google and Musk getting a substantial stake in TikTok could raise antitrust questions.